Today's News-Tuesday, January 20, 2009

MAJOR PILEUP SNARLS TRAFFIC ON I-78 LAST NIGHT

A tractor-trailer jackknifed and cars began skidding on icy Interstate 78 in northern Berks County, causing a 23-vehicle pileup that state police say closed the westbound lanes for about six hours Monday. Authorities bused dozens of people stranded by the 4 p.m. accident to the Hamburg field house, where they were evaluated by medical personnel and picked up by friends and family members. Authorities shut down 17 miles of I-78's westbound lanes as wrecked and overturned vehicles were cleared away. Traffic began flowing again after 10pm last night.

HIT AND RUN

Schuylkill Haven state police are looking for the operator of a Ford Ranger pickup which nailed several mailboxes on Long Run Road in Wayne Township. The truck apparently veered off the road, hit the boxes then fled the scene. Anyone with information should contact PSP Schuylkill Haven at 593-2000.

INAUGURATION

Many area students return to classes today after a long weekend. Their social studies lessons will mostly likely center around one single theme, the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. Obama is the first African-American to ascend to the White House in history. Obama and Vice President elect Joe Biden will take the oath of office on the steps of the US Capitol at noon today. Over two million people are expected to jam Washington DC for the ceremonies and the parade route today. Millions more are expected to watch the ceremonies on TV and on the Internet at their jobs today.

DAFFODIL DAYS BEGIN

One of the largest fundraisers for the American Cancer Society is underway. Daffodil Days celebrates the birth of spring with the aromatic smells of flowers, and the nearly $100 thousand dollar goal will help the Society to keep their programs going. Orders are now being taken through various outlets across the county. To order daffodils, call the American Cancer Society office at 622-4400.

WOMAN STRIKES OFFICER

An Ashland woman is facing charges for striking a police officer Sunday. Borough police say that Lucy Dunleavy was creating a disturbance at 13th and Middle Streets around 3am. Officers were notified by a borough plow operator. Dunleavy reportedly punched an officer and shoved him. She was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault, public drunkenness and other offenses. After arraignment, she was taken to Schuylkill County Prison.

ASSAULT HEARING SET FOR PHILADELPHIA MEN

Two Philadelphia men charged with possession of marijuana and loaded guns at Penn State Schuylkill Campus are also facing assault charges in a beating near their residence. Authorities say 21-year-old Alvin Foster and 18-year-old James Foster were students in the fall semester at the university. They aren't enrolled for the spring semester. Police seized marijuana, scales, loaded stolen guns and $3,321 in cash in a December raid on their campus room. The two are being held in lieu of $25,000 bail, with a hearing scheduled Feb. 5 on drug and weapons charges. But they also face aggravated assault charges in a November attack that left a man with a concussion and a broken nose. A preliminary hearing on those charges is scheduled Thursday.

Pa. triple murder trial to begin in northern Pa.

TOWANDA, Pa. (AP) - The trial of a New York state man charged with the shotgun slayings of his parents and a brother is ready to begin in rural northern Pennsylvania. Thirty-two-year-old Steven Colegrove, of Deposit, N.Y., has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, second-degree murder and third-degree murder. The bodies of 60-year-old Joseph Colegrove, 56-year-old Marlene Colegrove and 36-year-old Michael Colegrove were found in their home in Tuscarora Township, near Towanda, on Aug. 8, 2007. Bradford County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. They say Steven Colegrove killed the three family members to collect an inheritance.

2 bodies found in Scranton, Pa., home

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - Police in Scranton say they can rule out carbon monoxide poisoning for the deaths of a man and a woman whose bodies were found in an apartment. Police were called Monday afternoon after a relative found the bodies in a bedroom. Scranton Police Capt. Carl Graziano says firefighters checked for carbon monoxide but didn't find any. Graziano says the victims were in their late 30s or early 40s. Their names weren't immediately released. Lackawanna County Coroner Joseph Brennan says there were no initial signs of trauma to the bodies. He says he expects an autopsy will be completed Tuesday.

Formal plan in works for downtown Philly casino

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A spokeswoman for Foxwoods says the casino company plans to go to Philadelphia's planning commission first as it seeks approval for a downtown casino. Foxwoods spokeswoman Maureen Garrity says the company plans to go to the City Council next before seeking approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. She says she doesn't know how long that will take. City officials say Foxwoods will spend several months drafting a detailed plan for a casino at The Gallery at Market East, a struggling downtown shopping mall near Chinatown. Foxwoods had planned to build on the Delaware River waterfront in South Philadelphia but agreed last fall to consider other sites amid outcries from community residents. The new site may prove just as contentious. A decade ago, Chinatown residents successfully fought plans to build sports stadiums in the area.

2 people have fake $100 bills at Pa. casino within 1 hour

BENSALEM, Pa. (AP) - State police say two people tried to use counterfeit $100 bills at Philadelphia Park Casino within an hour of each other. Police say 33-year-old Ernesto Marte tried putting a bill into a slot machine Saturday evening and it was rejected. He went to a cashier, who told him the bill was counterfeit. Marte asked the cashier to check another $100 and was told that bill was fake too. He told police that he got the bills from a stranger at a Philadelphia convenience store. Less than an hour later, 28-year-old Christina Alanza-Rentas also had a $100 bill rejected by a machine at the casino. She also took the bill to a cashier, who said it was fake. Police seized all three bills and forwarded them to the U.S. Secret Service.

Student-athlete killed in crash near Pittsburgh

HARMONY, Pa. (AP) - A high school plans to have counselors on hand when school opens because of a car crash near Pittsburgh that killed one student and critically injured another.
Sunday's crash on Interstate 79 killed 18-year-old Shannon Quail, a senior at Seneca Valley High School. The crash badly injured 17-year-old passenger Dana Hughes. Two other vehicles were involved, but those drivers weren't seriously hurt. Quail was a member of the girls' lacrosse team at Seneca Valley. Hughes is one of the premier high school softball players in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs. School district spokeswoman Linda Andreassi says group counselors will be at the school starting Tuesday.

JetBlue adds Pittsburgh-to-Fla. Super Bowl flights

IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) - JetBlue Airways will offer service from Pittsburgh International Airport to Tampa, Fla., for the first time to accommodate fans traveling to and from the Super Bowl on Feb. 1. The discount airline will offer one flight each on Jan. 29 and 30 to Tampa, and two nonstop flights back to Pittsburgh on Feb. 2. The airline's "Big Game Shuttle" will feature a 150-seat Airbus A320. JetBlue began offering flights from Pittsburgh to Boston and New York in June 2006. The airline plans to add a second daily flight between Pittsburgh and Boston in May.

Pa. flight attendant sues airlines over sexy attire

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A flight attendant from Pittsburgh is suing JetBlue Airways and Delta Airlines, saying a male worker denied her work-related passage on a flight because she was not dressed provocatively enough. Thirty-seven-year-old Karin Keegan's federal lawsuit claims she lost income because she has stopped taking standby flights on JetBlue so she can get to job assignments. Keegan works for Delta, which has an agreement with JetBlue to ferry Delta flight attendants on standby basis. Keegan's attorney says a male JetBlue worker wouldn't let her on a flight because her pants weren't tight enough and her shirt wasn't low cut. Tired of the alleged harassment, Keegan doesn't fly JetBlue to jobs anymore. Her attorney says that affects her income. The airlines haven't commented on the lawsuit.

WASHINGTON (AP) - People from all over the country are in Washington D.C. for Barack Obama's inauguration. A man from Brooklyn says it'll be a part of his family's history "passed on from generation to generation." A Minnesota man with tickets to the swearing-in says he feels like he'll "be remembering this thing forever."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama will be plenty busy in the hours leading up to his inauguration as the 44th president. His day starts with a special prayer service, and about an hour later he'll head to the White House for coffee with President Bush. Obama takes the oath of office at around noon.

WASHINGTON (AP) - After 36 years as a senator, Joe Biden is set to become the Vice President of the United States. Biden says he told Obama he gets "to be the last guy in the room" for important decisions, but also says he told Obama he'll back his decisions all
the way.

TOKYO (AP) - While European markets are up, Asian stocks have tumbled as worries over the health of major banks trump any optimism ahead of Barack Obama's inauguration. Investors are bracing for a second wave of banking crises.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal safety officials say the US Airways jet that made a dramatic landing on the Hudson River last week experienced an engine compressor failure two days earlier. However investigators say they haven't found "any anomalies or malfunctions" from the time the plane took off last Thursday to when the pilot reported a birdstrike.